


Mrs. Claus is coming to Town

by Daughter_of_the_TARDIS



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Holidays, Space Wives, river song as ms claus, terrible hats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-24 03:51:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17093498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daughter_of_the_TARDIS/pseuds/Daughter_of_the_TARDIS
Summary: “I think the Doctor was kissing Mrs. Claus.” Yaz said, the words sounding ridiculous even as she said them.





	1. Chapter 1

Team TARDIS had just left another beach planet behind - after the sheer amount of running that they had been doing lately, her friends had requested that they take some time off from running everywhere. The Doctor had complied, taking them to amusement parks and beaches across the galaxy. But after almost two full weeks of nothing but relaxing vacations, even Graham was starting to get antsy for something exciting to happen.

Yaz’s phone went off just as they made it back inside the TARDIS, and they all turned to look at her as she pulled her phone out of her pocket, checking to see what was going on. “My Mum’s texting me.” she said, staring at the screen in surprise for a moment before she started tapping away at the screen, typing out her reply.

“I can’t believe you can actually get texts in outer space.” Ryan said, shaking his head slightly even as he looked almost awed at the idea. “How can you get signal?”

“Course you can - how else do you think Winston gets ahold of me everytime he needs help?” The Doctor asked, looking like she couldn't even believe that he had asked such a ridiculous question. “And don’t get me started on Neffy - she needs to learn not to be so rude sometimes. Did you know she tried to make herself my queen? I mean honestly!” She shook her head, blonde hair flying around her face with the movement.

“Neffy?” Graham asked, looking slightly confused. “Who’s Neffy?”

The Time Lord looked as though the answer should have been obvious. “Queen Nefertiti.”

“It's almost the holidays.” Yaz broke into their conversation before Graham had a chance to say anything, sounding amazed at the news. They had started traveling with the Doctor in October - there was no way it could have already been almost January.

“What? Already?” Graham asked, completely forgetting about Nefertiti. The Doctor looked slightly upset - she didn’t want to bring her friends back home just yet, even if it was just for awhile. The holidays always had a way of reminding her of the friends that she had lost, and the families that she had made and had to leave behind. She quickly pulled herself out of her memories, blinking rapidly before checking to see if anyone had noticed her getting out of it.

She nodded. “Mum says we’re havin’ a holiday party - just to get everyone together.” Yaz reported, looking up from her phone. “Mum’s invited all of you to come ‘round, if you like.” Graham and Ryan both nodded, and the Doctor was practically bouncing up and down now that she knew her friends weren’t leaving her alone for the holidays.

“Christmas at Yaz’s - do you celebrate Christmas?” the Doctor asked, her expression quickly changing from excitement to curiosity at the thought of learning something new. 

Yaz shook her head. “No, but we still like to have a party.” 

The Doctor accepted the answer with a nod, a wide smile crossing her face. “A party at Yaz’s.” the Doctor cheered, starting her usual dance around the console as she began to pilot them to their destination. “Brilliant!”

“Hopefully we make it there before the party’s over.” Graham deadpanned, earning laughs from the others even as the Doctor looked insulted, stopping in her tracks. But then she yelped, reaching into her pockets and digging around for a moment before pulling out a small black billfold and flipping it open. Ryan and Yaz exchanged curious looks as her normally pale face flushed red. She concentrated for a moment and the billfold flashed gold for a moment before she smirked and put it back in her pocket.

“What’s that?” 

“Nothing!” the Doctor replied, the words coming out far too quickly to be believable. “Nothing at all.”

“Right…” Ryan drawled, still watching her with a suspicious look on his face. It was blatantly obvious that the Time Lord was up to something, but they all knew that no amount of prodding was going to get it out of her. 

“Come on then!” the Doctor said, an exuberant smile on her face as she began her dance around the console once more.

8888

The ancient time ship landed in front of the block of flats that the Khan family lived in with her usual wheezing groaning sound, her lights glowing warmer that usual.

“Seriously, Doctor, take it off.” Ryan practically begged as they made their way out of the TARDIS. Graham smiled as he shook his head, watching his grandson try and reason with the mad alien that they traveled with. He had already given up on making the Time Lord see reason in this case - fashion had never been her strong suit, and this time wasn’t any different.

“Why should I?” the Doctor asked, spinning around to show off her hat with its pattern of fairy lights stitched into it - including the LEDs that the made the fairy lights glow. A matching scarf was wrapped around her neck, and she grinned. “It’s a brilliant outfit, Ryan.”

“No, its not.” the young man argued, shaking his head at how ridiculous she was. “Its terrible.”

She looked offended. “It is not!” she pulled at the scarf, examining the pattern with a critical eye. “It’s brilliant.”

Yaz decided to intervene rather quickly - enough time spent negotiating truces between the Doctor and whoever she was arguing with had taught her that it was best to cut them off early. It saved them lots of time, and occasionally quite a bit of running. “Come on - my family’s waiting.”

8888

The party was in full swing by the time they arrived at her family’s flat, and they all were quickly pulled into the swing of things. Yaz had been ambushed by family friends the moment she stepped through the door, Ryan had been monopolized by her sister, and Graham had found one of the few people in the world that could stand listening to his bus stories for any length of time. It was nice, Yaz realized, to have this bit of downtime in between adventures - it made her remember why she wanted to travel with the Doctor in the first place.

Over an hour had passed before she realized that she hadn’t seen the Doctor for a while, and even then it was because her mother came over to talk to her about the woman. She looked worried, which was enough to have Yaz making her excuses and hurrying over to her mother.

Naija Khan had the same look on her face as she did when she had faced down giant spiders in the hotel that she was supposed to be opening - worried, but trying her best to keep people from noticing just how worried she was. “What’s the matter?” Yasmin asked, keeping her voice low to stop anyone at the party from hearing her.

“I haven’t seen the Doctor in awhile.” her mum said, eyes scanning the crowd that filled their flat.

“I’m sure she’s fine, Mum. She probably just got caught up in talking to someone and is off somewhere.” she said, trying to soothe her mother. At the same time, she had to admit that there was a suspicious lack of Doctor in the area. Normally she was everywhere all at once - like a tiny blonde puppy. “Where did you see her last?”

“She was going outside.”

“Yaz, why don’t you go and see what’s taking your friend so long? She went outside almost thirty minutes ago.” her mum asked. She looked in the direction of the hallway, her face pinched in a slightly worried expression. “She should have been back by now.”

While she was sure that her friend could take care of herself, she also knew that her mum wouldn’t stop worrying until she checked on the other woman. So without another word, she kissed her mother on the cheek and headed for the door.

8888

She made her way outside, closing the door behind her and sighing in relief when the noise from the party died down slightly. As much as she loved her family, the constant noise that came along with a Khan party could be a bit much at times. She shivered a bit as a burst of cold air blew over her, pulling her jacket just a little bit tighter around her. Checking both directions, she didn’t see anyone. She was about to give up and go back inside - it was cold out, and the Doctor was probably inside and her mum had just missed her. 

“- River!” a voice hissed, and she perked up. The Doctor was out here, there was no mistaking her voice. Although why she was talking about rivers was beyond the police officer.

She paused when she heard another voice from around the corner - the same direction that the Doctor was. “Yes, sweetie?” the voice purred, a throaty edge to the words that had Yaz blushing even though she didn’t know why. 

“Would you stop?” the Doctor’s voice said - Yaz frowned. She didn’t sound upset, but there was a catch in her voice, like she was trying not to cry. “I’m supposed to be inside, at the party.” 

“You’re welcome to go back in if you’d like.” the unfamiliar voice said, an innocent edge to the words that Yasmin instinctively knew was fake.

“Not a chance.” the Doctor replied, sounding a bit breathless. Yaz crept around the corner, determined to see what was going on. She was sure it was something exciting - something that would lead to an adventure. In her short amount of time with the Doctor, Yasmin Khan had become more of an adrenaline junkie than she had ever thought possible. A small smile crept across her face at the very thought of something else happening in Sheffield.

She froze once she made it around the corner. Blinking a few times, she studied the scene, wondering for a moment how much eggnog she had actually had. But the image was still there. 

The Doctor was standing against the wall, a woman pinned to it under her, with her hands tangled in the woman’s hair as they snogged. Her pale blue coat was pushed off of her shoulders and she could make out the outline of the woman’s hands roaming under it, and the woman had a fur-trimmed red coat wrapped around her, a black belt cinching the waist in tight. The red soles of her black fur-trimmed boots were easily visible as she wrapped a leg around the Doctor, pulling the other woman in closer even as one hand reached up… and pulled the glowing hat off of her head, throwing it over the balcony. 

The Doctor pulled away, pouting as the other woman laughed, but Yasmin didn’t stick around to see anything else.

8888

She found Ryan and Graham after only a few moments of searching, and pulled them aside to the corner of the room. The others looked worried - like they were expecting her to let them know that something had invaded the city.

“I think the Doctor was kissing Mrs. Claus.” Yaz said, the words sounding ridiculous even as she said them. She didn’t miss the way Ryan eyed the glass in her hand, and she scowled at him. “I swear - she was kissin’ Mrs. Claus.”

“What?” Ryan asked, looking confused. Not that she really blamed him - she wouldn’t have believed herself if she hadn’t seen it in the first place. “The Doctor?” he repeated.

Yaz nodded, still focused in on what she had seen. “At least - someone dressed like Ms. Claus.” she amended. 

“You’re sure it was the Doc?” Graham asked. Not that she blamed him for double-checking - it had taken her more than a few moments to even realize it was the Doctor in the first place.

“I think I’d recognize the Doctor.” Yaz pointed out, hurt coloring her voice when she realized that her friends didn’t believe her. “It’s kind of hard to mistake her for anyone else.”

The others had to concede the point, and their disbelief quickly turned to curiosity. They were all thinking the same thing - whoever this Mrs. Claus was, they had to meet her.

“Come on!”

Ryan and Graham exchanged a look, but eventually their curiosity got the better of them. “This I’ve got to see.”


	2. Chapter 2

They hurried outside - Graham and Ryan eager to see what she had, and Yaz eager to reassure herself that she hadn’t gone mad. But they weren’t there - there was no sign of the Doctor or her friend.

“She was right here!” Yasmin said, looking around them like the two women would just pop up out of thin air. “I swear it.”

“Gang!” The Doctor called out to them, her voice echoing from the ground below. The trio raced over to the railing, looking over it to see the Doctor smiling up at them from down below. Her hat was back on her head, her nose pink from the cold. She waved up at them, an exuberant grin on her face, her other hand trapped in a gloved embrace. Once they noticed that, all eyes locked in on the woman attached to the gloved hand. A head of riotous blonde curls was topped off by a Santa hat, and the red coat and fur-lined gloves and boots she wore completed the look - Yaz had been right. It was Ms. Claus, or at least someone who was doing an excellent job of impersonating her. The only thing that didn’t really match the image that she portrayed was the gun strapped to her belt. “Come and meet my wife!”

The trio looked at each other in shock, before looking back down at the pair that were disappearing into the TARDIS. The door closed behind them, and the light on top of the ship flickered once, like she was beckoning them closer. That broke them out of their reverie enough to make them all stare at each other in shock. 

“Did she just…?” Yaz asked, and Ryan and Graham both nodded, not giving her a chance to finish her sentence. 

“Yeah.”

“We’re goin’ down there, right?” Ryan asked, and this time it was Yaz's turn to look at her friend like he had grown a third head. 

“Of course!” she replied, and they all grinned, racing down the staircase towards the ancient blue time ship.

8888

The three humans practically broke down the TARDIS doors in their haste to get through, spilling through the doorway and onto the console room floor.

“You said they'd be eager, sweetie - I didn't think you meant this eager.” A voice said from above them, and the humans slowly looked up. The Doctor's wife stood over them, hands on her hips as she studied them. Green eyes stared at them, seeming to calculate every possible weakness.

The Doctor bounced over to her side, slipping her hand into her wife's and twining their fingers together like it was second nature. “Gang, meet my wife, River - Professor River Song. River, this is the gang - Ryan, Graham, and Yaz.”

“Lovely to meet you all.” The woman said, smiling at them - the simple action making her look far more approachable and much less like she was figuring out what the best way to kill them might be. 

“That was the message that you got, wasn’t it?” Ryan said, crossing his arms over his chest as he tried not to laugh at the look on the Doctor's face. “An intergalactic booty call?”

“Of course not!” She denied, blushing hotly. Her friends smirked, mischief in their eyes like they were planning in teasing the Doctor for awhile longer, but her wife intervened before they could say anything.

“I wasn't the one who asked for a booty call.” River said, a smirk playing across her face. The Doctor's face turned an even brighter shade of red, and this time her friends looked awkward. It was one thing to tease her about having a wife, but it was a different thing entirely to realize that the woman they were traveling with knew far more about the universe than her innocent demeanor showed.

“Come on you two - let's leave them alone.” Graham said softly, leading them back out to the party. He turned to face his friend, winking at her as he led them outside. 

River wrapped her arms around her wife's waist, and the Doctor's head came to rest on the fur trim of her coat. “They seem nice.” she mused.

The Doctor nodded, too content to do much more than that. “They're good people - they've helped me a lot.” She said quietly. “Not as much as you could, though.”

“Sweetie…” River began, but the Doctor was gone - off through the halls of the TARDIS. 

“When was the last time you saw me?” The Doctor asked, leading them back through to the kitchen. Once they were in there she started rummaging through cupboards, looking for the things to make hot chocolate. The TARDIS helped to speed things along, and it was only a minute or so before the Doctor had two mugs ready - one with whipped cream and sprinkles, the other with whipped cream, cinnamon, and a decent amount of Bailey's. She kept the one with sprinkles for herself, handing the Bailey's to her wife with a small smile. “We didn't do diaries this time.”

River looked at her, and the look in her eyes told her wife what she was going to say before she could say it. “The Library.”

By the look on the Doctor's face, it was the information she wanted to hear the most but had never expected she would. 

River took her pause to be the opposite of what it was - hesitation instead of disbelief. “I understand if you want me to…”

“To what?” the Doctor asked, worried about what exactly her wife was planning.

“To leave.”

“What?” The Doctor asked, staring at her wife with puppy dog eyes and a whipped cream mustache. “Why would I want you to do that?”

“Because our story is over, Doctor.” River said softly, taking a sip of her hot chocolate that was more liquor than anything else. “You don't have to babysit me anymore to make sure that the timelines remain intact.”

“Why do you do this, River? Every time, you -”

“Doctor…” her wife sighed, but the Time Lord continued talking before River had a chance to derail her.

“I love you, you completely daft woman.” The Doctor said firmly, not giving her wife any room to argue. “An’ you're goin’ to travel with me.”

“Sure of that, are you?” River asked, raising an eyebrow at her wife, her melancholy forgotten in favor of reminding her wife who exactly was in charge in their relationship. 

But the Doctor just grinned up at her. “Yup!” She said, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. River melted at the sight - there was something about her spouse in every incarnation that was irritatingly endearing.

“Merry Christmas, my love.” River said softly, bending over just enough to press a kiss to her wife's forehead. The Doctor's face scrunched up like she thought it would - that move was one that the Doctor normally did, and her wife delighted in the fact that she was the taller of the two now.

“Merry Christmas, River.” she replied, leaning her head on her wife's shoulder once more.

Their tender moment was interrupted when Ryan and Yaz came barreling through the door. “Doctor!” Yaz skidded to a halt, bracing herself on the counter. “We have a problem.”

“Christmas day, of course we do.”. the Doctor said, rolling her eyes. Both of her friends looked confused, but River smiled - she had heard plenty of stories about her spouse's Christmas escapades, and had been involved in a few during their time on Darillium.

River was already on her feet, adjusting the settings on her blaster. “What's going on?” She asked. 

“The santa hats - they're takin’ over people.”. Ryan told them, still panting for breath. “Granddad's holdin’ em off for now.”

The two blondes actually looked suprised for a moment before their faces settled into blank masks. “That's new.” River remarked, already looking at her wife. The shorter blonde smiled, grabbing her wife's hand as she darted out of the kitchen and raced towards the console room.

“This is gonna be fun!”

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm not quite sure about this fic, but there's only so much editing a girl can do :). Let me know what you think!


End file.
